First, no free agents for you!
Then, that boring, vanilla, generic stadium with really no view of the Capitol is going to cost you another $62 million for a grand total of $672 million. Nah, I can't think of any better uses of that money in DC.
Ah well, if Ladson says it, it can't be true.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
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10 comments:
Hi Steven,
Although I respect your love of baseball, it is time to acknowledge that the Nationals are a disaster and not worthy of your time, considerable talent, and effort. Do you like hockey? The Washington Capitals are everything the Nationals aren’t – i.e. talented, well coached, well run, great owner, and a fantastic GM. My Bolivian wife loves the Capitals, but cringes when she has to go to a Nats game. It was a mistake to bring baseball back to D.C. if the Lerners and Bowden is what we got. Rock the Red!!! Go Capitals. Heck, even Minister of Nationals propaganda Boswell is now writing about the Caps.
I literally could not even begin to summarize the basic rules of hockey. You get a point when you put the ball in the net, right? Is it like basketball where you get 2 points if you hit the ball in from farther away?
And why do they fight so much? It seems stupid.
I just get the sense that hockey is just drunken hosers whacking at each other with big sticks.
I don't understand why the stadium is so disliked now. I remember Svrluga was hyping it up like crazy. I really like the stadium, and so do most of my friends. I like that it's one of the most eco-friendly stadiums in the league and also, one thing Nats Park has over every other stadium in the league is Ben's half smokes.
El Rey, here's the thing: The Lerners are trying to do the same thing Uncle Ted has done, only they have the worst executive in baseball now calling the shots since they've effectively neutered the only voice of reason in the building. for god's sake, Kasten was running to Toronto!
Hi Dave,
I'm curious, what makes you think the Lerners are trying to field a winning team? Teixeira? In my opinion, their attempts to land him were a marketing ploy to save season tickets. They knew he would never play for the Nats which is why they offered him so much money in the first place. The Lerners are billionaires who made their money in the real estate business. They didn't become that rich by letting con men like Bowden pull the wool over their eyes which is why I'm so skeptical of the Lerners. The Lerners are happy enough catering to Mets and Philly fans. I'm sorry and I apologize for sounding snotty and I certainly don't want to sound confrontational, but what do you base your opinion on? A fish rots from the top down and that starts with ownership. I do agree though that firing Bowden would send a positive message to MLB and would convince me that perhaps I'm wrong about the Lerners. I certainly would love to see a winning baseball team in D.C. with a huge fan base, but I just don't see it happening with the As-Is Nationals organization. Regardless, I think we will all agree that the Redskins get too much coverage in this city.
Paz,
El Rey
Will--I don't hate the stadium. I do think it's kinda boring, but more it's that 1. I'm being grumpy. 2. I hate the public subsidy. Always have, always will. And 3. I live 5 blocks from RFK and really all things considered liked it better when they were over here. But that's just me.
El Rey, i didn't say they were trying to field a winning team. what is said was they were trying the same approach as the Caps: tear down, try to rebuild through the draft and scouting (trades) and hope some of the young talent they draft become superstars, and staying away from signing free agnets, who are typically at peak--or past peak--and won't be of value when your younger players blossom.
the Caps were VERY shrewd as they went about their rebuild--and got lucky when Ovechkin was available to them. the Nats have the number one overall pick this season in the amateur draft. let's see if they are just as shrewd.
i'm sure Steven and i have the answer to that question, if you're interested.
Cost me? Not likely. Oh you're talking to him over there with the funny license plate. Yeah, that guy's getting screwed.
Another nice analysis, Steven. I'm sure you're a formidable fantasy league opponent, who knows well when to sell high and buy low on pitchers.
I didn't weigh in on your new "Pitcher's luck" thread since my thoughts drift back to this one-- so I'll do so here.
I simply have to agree with other posters wondering why the Lerner/Kasten/Bowden Nationals are even worthy of your analytic time.
It occurred to me-- as I see how you've crunched numbers on a bunch of has-beens, never-weres, and never going-to-bes in the Nationals' stable of pitchers-- that your new analysis of this collection of stiffs is akin to a bunch of art historians who should be studying the nuances of Michaelangelo's rendering on the Sistine Chapel or Jan Van Eyck triptych choosing instead to ruminate on the nuances of a velvet elvis puchased out of a van on the grounds of an abandoned gas station.
You could argue that the stat-heads at Baseball America are poring primarily over a population of even worse players in terms of actual skill, the majority of whom who will not reach the show. However, there is not the expectation that all are major-league quality.
As the old saying goes, its the thought that counts. The multi-headed hydra that runs the Nationals clearly places no priority on making sure there is a reason to pay $30+ a seat, even *if* there is no reasonable chance of the playoffs, per se.
I support "The plan" (R) in concept, but not at the expense of fielding a major-league quality team.
With the internet and MLB packages on FIOS, there really is no reason I should still be a "homer" and follow this team, just because it's the closest.
I'm truly flattered that y'all put such great value on my time. But I'll tell you this--writing this blog since last June or whenever I started has made following a crap-ass team a lot more fun.
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